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The Grey Guard
"We are the warriors of the Grey Guard, armoured in numbers, shielded by devotion and armed with purity of purpose. But greater even than these, we carry the light of the Emperor's grace across the stars, and that we are the Imperator's Fists! For the Imperium!" -- Legion Master Balthier after Tiber Myr was rediscovered and took helm of the Grey Guard. The Grey Guard are one of the First Founding Chapters of the Space Marines and were originally the IInd Legion ''Legiones Astartes ''raised by the Emperor Himself from across Terra during the Unification Wars. The Grey Guard stand out from other Space Marine Chapters since they possess no fixed homeworld, although they are most frequently based on Terra and Zakhul and the mystery surrounding their gene-seed origin. The Grey Guard remained stationary on Zakhul, to serve as their Fortress-Monastery. They maintain recruitment-chapels on various worlds spread throughout the Imperium. Part of the Grey Guards duties during the Great Crusade were to function as the Emperor's "Sword and Shield", accompanying Him during critical campaigns and important moments in history. The Grey Guard were usually used to strike a decisive blow against the enemies He confronted during that time. The role of the Emperor's Wardens and Fist remained thoughout their Legion beyond the Horus Heresy. Loyalty in time of betrayal was not easy to measure, for one cannot look at the face of an ally and know if he is a friend or an enemy. Even after Horus' treachery was made manifest upon the death plains of Istvaan III and the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V, the truth of who was Traitor and who remained loyal was far from clear. In this age of betrayal, one Legion stood as a pillar of loyalty among the sea of doubt. The Grey Guard and their Primarch Tiber Myr, ever true, never swerving from the toll demanded by a war of brothers, bore the weight of loyalty without breaking, but not without cost. Sacrifice without limit changed those who survived. Legion History Wars of Unification The Lance Compliance Campaign Tiber Myr The Great Crusade The Grey Crusade Iron and Stone Triumph of Ullanor Jealousies and Rivalries The Coming Storm Horus Heresy Mission To Titan The Traitors & Gulliman's Deception The Segmentum Campaign The Battle of Kronos Deception of the Unforgiving Battle of Terra Pillar of Bone Column of Glory Codex Astartas Legion Organization Pre-Heresy From Its Incarnations, the IInd Legion had remained true to the initial organization instructions of the Emperor and his advisers in the form of Malcador the Hero that were laid down at the beginning of the Great Crusade. The warriors of the Legion were organized into companies of approximately a thousand warriors or less, then into battle-chapters, each of ten or less companies. The Guard enshrined the basic structure as a tradition given that it was one of the largest legions before the Horus Hersey and only modified it after the rediscovery of Tiber Myr whom elaborated on it to include and emphasize on heavy infantry & support deployments. The operational doctrines of the IInd favored assault diversity and the application of overwhelming tank force. As a reflection of this, the Legion maintained armored divisions of specialized predators for all-terrain battle situations, which can be seen as both the Legion (And Chapter) strength and weakness. Each Damocles company was in theory suppose to be able to meet the enemies of Mankind on any battlefield, and as such were outfitted with a proportionate mix of tactical and assault units, but with slightly more on the armour and artillery along with a sizeable airforce for support. However, as Tiber Myr was rediscovered and multiple members within the Legion began to discover their psykic abilities, the form of battle was reorganized to include support units in the form of the Grey Liberians, possibly the strongest users in all of the Legions abit an exception with the Thousand Sons While this doctrine structured adaptability and organized reference. It is noted that as the Grey Guard are famous for their battle prowess in the field of battle - It should be noted that most if not all of their terminators are extremely dangerous in close combat, carrying massive thunder hammers in battle and used to soften the enemy lines for the initial tactical and heavy armour assault. Specialist Ranks & Formations Legion Command Hierarchy Post-Heresy Order of Battle Grey Guard Librarians Legion Recruitment Legion Beliefs Legion Gene-Seed The Grey Guard' strength of spirit and purity of body were the two most important gifts the Emperor passed on to the Legion and their Primarch through His genetic legacy. Their military training, potent weaponry and powerful armour are simply tools to aid them in their duty. Without the psychic might to use his Force Blade or the inviolate will to resist, a Grey Guard is the same as any other Space Marine -- a potent soldier in the Emperor's armies but nonetheless a mere shadow of his true potential. The Grey Guard are unique, in that their gene-seed was not descended entirely from Tiber Myr, the Primarch of the Grey Guard but also from the Emperor's own genetic material; a mere fault that was embraced and exploited by the Emperor to further enhance this future-embodiment of himself, it was also known as "the Emperor's Gift" only to the Grey Guard. Few warriors since the Horus Heresy have matched the flawlessness of the Grey Guards, nor are any so closely linked to the Emperor. It is that unique quality that the Emperor possesses, the nature of His spirit that allows Him to touch the Warp, shape it to His will, and yet remain beyond its madness, that He has gifted to the Grey Guard. Even the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are too far removed from their creator to embody such purity, their genetic integrity faded by hundreds of generations and thousands of Terran years, given to varying degrees of imperfection. Not so the Grey Guard, whose unblemished line reaches back to their maker in an unbroken chain. Only an unblemished soul is proof against spiritual assault, and of all the servants of the Emperor the Grey Guard are among the rare few to be all but immune. Each Grey Guard is a one in a billion example of Humanity that has an instinctual command of his psychic powers, the rarest of genetic traits that, when combined with the unusually potent gene-seed of the Grey Knights, grows into a formidable and exceptional tool to combat Daemons. Without these gifts a mortal man might become a plaything for the powers of the Warp, his body twisted into vile and terrible new forms or his psyche ripped asunder by daemonic thoughts and visions. The Warp can corrupt even a Space Marine, the lies of the Chaos Gods subverting his martial pride or loyalty to the Emperor into a dark and dangerous thing. Power Armour and bolt rounds can protect neither man nor Space Marine from the Immaterium, should they be exposed to its baleful energies. The Emperor alone was said to be incorruptible before the Dark Gods, and it is this gift He was rumoured to have passed on to the Grey Guard. Certainly, despite countless battles against daemonic forces and in the hundred centuries since their creation, not a single Grey Knight has succumbed to the influence of the Ruinous Powers -- a testament to the skill of their creator and the dedication they embody. Notable Campaigns Notable Grey Guard Heresy Era Personnel Post-Heresy Personnel Legion Relics Legion Fleet Legion Appearance Legion Colours Legion Badge